Amateur Night
by Gumball2
Summary: Having finally created her masterpiece, Luna is ready to perform. The problem? She can't spot the one person that needs to hear it.


"Not it. You gotta tune it down."

"You sure, mate?" Chunk asked as he clutched the bass, "ya don't want this lass goin' flat now."

"It's gotta be mellow," Luna explained. She held up a flat palm and traveled it across her abdomen, "smooth like Satana."

Chunk chuckled as he adjusted the bass's knobs.

"Ah don't think ya want it sounding quite like that."

"No, but," Luna said, realizing the strange analogy. For a song called "Smooth", there was no shortage of abrasive brass stripping away any relaxation, "you get what I'm sayin'."

And besides, there wasn't enough time to get into explanations. Both of them were already on stage setting up. With each passing second, the customers delved deeper into their little chats. At some point, any note would have been greeted with begrudgement. She had to move quick.

Luna's eyes darted around the stage. The amp jacked, check. Microphone hooked up, check. Chunk's bass tuned, check. Warmed up...sure? Todd on drums, def. Sam in the crowd...

Where was she? She said she would have been here by now. Maybe her eyes were failing her. With all these faces out and about, Sam's beautiful blue streak had to pop out somewhere.

Forgetting the rest of her responsibilities, Luna scanned the entire vicinity. She would not rest until she found her beloved. She had to be around somewhere. Maybe the microphone was blocking her view. She looked left. She looked right. She gazed down the center, the corners, the poorly lit bits that could have revealed that lass. But alas, her first impression held true. She was truly playing to a crowd of strangers.

That wasn't so bad, Luna tried telling herself. She had done that plenty of times before. In fact, it even made for some interesting post-jam meetups. Maybe tonight would be different?

"You ready to go?"

Luna jolted back. Turning back, she realized it was only Chunk with the bass. Luna shot a quick grin.

"O-of course, mate," she said hesitantly. Luna gripped the neck of her guitar and turned solemnly to the audience.

She gave one last look at the crowd, just to make sure she didn't miss anything. From what she could observe, nothing appeared nor vanished. She silently exhaled, hoping that her face didn't give anything away. None of these customers needed this. Neither did she. Luna fluttered her eyes shut and sucked the air into her nostrils.

And just like a spark, she sprung to life.

"Wuzzup, Royal Woods," Luna exclaimed into the microphone, "How's everyone's night going?"

Beneath the soft buzz of the customers' conversations, a few responses broke through the blanket of noise. That had to count for something.

"This one goes out to," she paused. Luna realized that her prepared remarks were out of line with what she was given. But what good would saying nothing accomplish? She already started and this crowd needed something to cling to. Tightening her grip on the guitar, she continued, "someone, anyone that means the world to you. T-take 'em by the hand, and never let go."

Taking a step back, Luna gazed down at strings beneath her. She fiddled with the pick, trying to get it to fit just right. For some reason, it felt crooked and loose in her fingertips, as if one on bad strum would send it plummeting. But she was determined to hang on to it at any cost. The fine diners at this place deserved it.

She turned back to Todd and gave him the nod. Nodding back, he tapped his drumsticks four times. Each snap felt like a bell tone ringing in her head. Now was the time.

The room filled with a smooth, rich chord. Luna processed the sounds, the pitch increments, the bass's deep timbre. Chunk knew just what it meant to keep it mellow, calming some of her nerves. And as the band glided through the slow, easy chord progression, Luna took in the air surrounding her.

 _"When I walk into the hall_

 _And see you standing tall_

 _I just don't know what to say."_

But as quickly as the music interjected its sweet wisdom, those jitters eeked back to the forefront. What was she going to say without her good friend to hear? What good would these strangers get out of this promenade?

 _"Your music knocks me out_

 _And I wanna stand and shout_

 _How you always make my day."_

Luna nearly missed the next jump from the first to the third. As she struggled to hit that crucial note, she thought back to being in the garage rehearsing it. This was the point in the song that would build up to the chorus, that grand apex that so many singles used to strike the audience's heart. She caught a glimpse of the crowd, but couldn't make out any specific faces. If anyone slipped in, she knew she wouldn't have caught it.

 _"You seem to get who I am."_

Seemed? One either got it or they didn't, and Sam wasn't one to leave anything to guess work. Sam got Luna, and if she didn't feel like showing up, then Sam made it perfectly clear.

 _"You wanna soar in the sky with me._

 _I'm gonna rise up and make you see_

 _I'm in love with you, Sam."_

Was she, though? Luna took advantage of the interlude to gain another look at the audience. What was it about Sam that she didn't get? She thought she had done enough to enter her good graces. Was her accent too thick? Was her hair too short? Were her clothes too weird?

But before she could stay in the funk too long, the safety bars had run out. Her eyes directed themselves to the daunting microphone.

 _"We could rock the world together_

 _Riding on the backs of adoring fans._

 _Every note will be our surfing board_

 _As we follow our hearts' commands._

 _All I wanna see is for someone like you_

 _To know that I will stay true."_

At this point, the bass fell out, leaving Luna with just her guitar strings fighting gravity to reach up to Todd's cymbal tapping. Even in rehearsal, she found it uncomfortable. Whenever she had proclaimed that rock n' roll was a pouring of emotion, she had meant blasts through the speakers and shredding her fingers until they bled.

But that wasn't the only way it can come out. Sometimes, one could only sink into the depths of the human heart when all their defenses are stripped away. No overbearing beat, no cheering crowds, nor even the mental image of glory. When all that was remaining is the human voice and simple plucking, it reminded her of how lonely people could be.

 _"You wanna soar in the sky with me._

 _I'm gonna rise up and make you see_

 _I'm in love with you, Sam."_

What was she saying? Sam ditching her? That this was some complex ploy to toy with her feelings? When anticipation and anxiety met, they made quite the argument. The words flooded her mind, trying to sway her that this would all be for naught. Sam never liked her and Luna was just wasting her time. Such words could be feisty.

But despite that. Despite the disappointment she has had to confront this evening, there was no need to beat herself up. Maybe something came up and Sam couldn't come. This is someone she has known for over a year now. Luna couldn't believe that any of those smiles her friend cast were phony or that those heartfelt references amounted to little more than a bogus front. At some point, even the fear eating her up had to admit that all these signals Sam had been casting her were the real deal.

Luna deserved Sam. And as long as she was on stage, these folks deserved a killer finish.

 _"You wanna soar in the sky with me._

 _I'm gonna rise up and make you see_

 _I'm in love with you, Sam."_

And now was the triumphant music break. Chunk joined her this time, blending her guitar's lofty chords with a foundational harmony. Together, they built a solid house that could withstand any storm or heartbreak. Nothing would stop them now.

 _"Your music knocks me out_

 _And I wanna stand and shout_

 _How you always make my day."_

The instrumentals cut out completely, leaving her hanging onto that syllable. She knew she could have easily been caught off guard, rendering her breathless in this exposed moment. Through the possibilities, though, Luna ended up with a bag full of air and a voice hyped on adrenaline. She could have held that note all day.

Suddenly, she was at peace. No matter what happened the rest of the night, Luna knew that one reason this was worthwhile came from within her. Music was the most central outlet of all. No, not just an outlet. It was a way of life. And she wouldn't have that any other way.

 _"You wanna soar in the sky with me._

 _I'm gonna rise up and make you see_

 _I'm in love with you, Sam."_

As the song's climax, each strum of the guitar jolted her. Luna did her best to play along with the movement, bopping her head to make it all look intentional. Todd's drumming pulsated in her ears and Chunk's bass offered a subtle layer under the audible tapestry.

Then just like that, it cut out again. Luna felt her heart loosen up as the lingering chord resonated across the restaurant. She noticed the bullets of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead as a few dripped down her cheeks. Well, her insides were going to flare up even more now that she started thinking of Sam again.

"You wanna soar in the sky with me," she sang softly. Gazing down solemnly at the instrument, her eyes made sure her fingers methodically centered on the right chords.

 _I'm gonna rise up and make you see_

 _I'm in love with you, Sam."_

With a lofty couple of notes, the sound faded out. The patrons roared with cheers. It truly meant a lot when people would whistle just for you. Luna smiled as her eyes glazed past the crowd one last time, not even bothering to examine the faces in the sea. It didn't matter who it was that judged her anyway.

"Thanks dudes, and remember to rock on!"

Luna bowed out and slipped back towards Chunk and Todd.

"Great job, guys," Luna said, "thank you so much!"

"Always a pleasure, mate," Chunk replied as he tipped his cap.

Once again, Luna confronted the fact that she didn't have a plan. She had originally wanted to go out into the crowd and track down her good friend. Of course, she couldn't do that without knowing where she was in the crowd. But she wasn't going to let that bother her now. Tonight was a good night and she wanted to keep it like that.

"You guys need help packin' up?" Luna asked. It was a good thing her guitar remained strapped on. It made for the perfect life raft in a moment of awkwardness, "I figured you would need some."

Chunk cocked his head up and smirked. Luna could have sworn she saw a twinkle emerge in those thick dark eyes.

"An' take ya away from ya lass?" he said coyly.

Luna's jaw dropped. That face of his must have been full of it.

"You don't mean?..."

Instinctively, she swiveled around. If her feet pulled a one-eighty, her heart twisted in a five-forty. Sam was just...standing there?! With her HOOVES shirt and her pesky nose and that stupid, _sharp_ smug.

"I've been looking for you!" Luna said, the air sucked out of her lungs.

"I was hanging out in the corner, silly," she replied.

The jaw dropped even further. Luna's palms shook as her mind tried to wrap itself around this crazy concept.

"What?! I couldn't see you anywhere!"

She knew it. She scanned the crowd not once, but twice. Even if Sam wasn't dead center, she must have found her at some point. It was physically impossible otherwise.

"Must have had gnarly tunnel vision," she said.

Tunnel vision? Luna could have sworn her head was on a swivel. There was no way.

Sam's eyes said otherwise, however. They just had a way of telling her this was the truth. And now that she thought about it, Luna had been in a tailspin. And who could blame her? Sam's glow overwhelmed her no matter how many times she approached it. Nothing about her changed, yet Luna was always thrown off every time she saw that blue streak, that sharp face, and heard that lovely voice. Even thinking about her was enough to get her running without a ground beneath her.

But none of that mattered now. None of the fears, the nonsense, the darkness. Now she was in the light, Sam's perfect presence. Luna didn't even notice her cheeks blushing.

"Ya know, I meant every word of that song," she said, scratching the back of her head.

Sam chuckled. Luna was shocked. How could Sam laugh when she was opening up in front of her?

"You're somethin'," Sam said, smiling, "my lov'."

To think that Luna saw herself as a free spirit, above silly things like butterflies in her stomach. Yet here she was, peeling apart at the seams. Luna pulled everything she could muster just to keep herself together. She slowly lifted her head and did her best to square in on those eyes. Those sweet, perfect blue eyes. And gathering her strength, Luna said with a smile.

"Thanks, my lov'."


End file.
